Refrigerator and air door control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a refrigerator and an air door control method thereof.A strain sensor is installed at an air door of the refrigerator and used for detecting the strain value of the air door, and due to the fact that a fixing base of the air door can deform when the air door is stuck, the real-time strain value of the air door is detected through the strain sensor; and the real-time strain value is compared with a preset strain threshold value, so that whether the air door is stuck or not can be determined. Besides, for a quarter-bridge strain sensor without using a temperature compensating plate, due to the principle of thermal expansion and cold contraction, the strain value of the air door is large when the temperature is high and the air door is not stuck, the corresponding set strain threshold value is large at the moment, and otherwise, the corresponding strain threshold value is small when the temperature is low. The corresponding strain threshold value is selected in combination with the real-time temperature of the refrigerator, so that when it is detected that the real-time strain value is larger than or equal to the strain threshold value, the air door is controlled to stop running, noise generated by jamming of the air door disappears, and the corresponding strain threshold value is selected by introducing the temperature; the accuracy of judging whether the air door is stuck or not can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of refrigerators, and in particular to a refrigerator and a damper control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The refrigerator damper refers to the door inside the refrigerator, and its main function is to adjust the temperature and humidity inside the refrigerator. When the damper is closed, the air inside the refrigerator cannot circulate, thereby maintaining a lower temperature and lower humidity; when the damper is opened, cold air can flow into the refrigerator, lowering the temperature inside the refrigerator and also adjusting the humidity inside the refrigerator. The damper switch is generally controlled by the temperature controller inside the refrigerator. Existing refrigerator products have abnormal damper failures that cause noise. This is due to the uncertainty of the damper position before resetting. In order to ensure complete resetting, the reset signal will take a few more steps. When the damper reaches the mechanical limit, a "clicking sound" will appear at the limit until the extra steps are completely completed. The sound emitted when the damper is stuck is loud, resulting in an increase in the overall noise of the refrigerator. The refrigerators in the prior art have few technologies for damper noise control, and none of them have a good solution to the noise problem caused by damper stuck. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a damper control method thereof, which can effectively solve the noise problem caused by damper jamming.

[0004] To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising:

[0005] a box body, in which a storage chamber is formed, and the storage chamber includes at least a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber;

[0006] A door, used for opening and closing the storage room;

[0007] The damper is arranged in the box body and is used to inject cold air into the storage room when adjusting its opening. The damper includes a fixed base and a rotating element arranged on the fixed base. The opening of the damper is adjusted by rotating the rotating element.

[0008] A strain sensor, disposed on one side of the fixed base, for detecting a strain value of the damper;

[0009] A temperature sensor is provided in the storage chamber and is used to detect the real-time temperature of the storage chamber;

[0010] The controller is configured as:

[0011] In response to the damper opening adjustment operation, obtaining a real-time strain value and a preset strain threshold value detected by the strain sensor;

[0012] When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop operating.

[0013] As an improvement of the above solution, the strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then,

[0014] When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value;

[0015] When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

[0016] As an improvement of the above solution, the controller is further configured as follows:

[0017] In response to a power-on operation or a defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, a plurality of reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor are acquired;

[0018] Perform data preprocessing on several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data;

[0019] Taking the average value of several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value;

[0020] When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the average strain value is used as the fixed value;

[0021] When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber is obtained; the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple is calculated as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

[0022] As an improvement of the above solution, the controller is further configured as follows:

[0023] Detect the activation status of the functional modules in the refrigerator;

[0024] When all functional modules are not started, the strain threshold is controlled to remain unchanged;

[0025] When at least one functional module is started, if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the fixed value is adjusted according to the number of started functional modules; if the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the corresponding multiple adjustment value is determined according to the number of started functional modules, the multiple adjustment value is superimposed on the strain multiple, and the strain threshold is recalculated according to the strain multiple after the multiple adjustment value is superimposed.

[0026] As an improvement of the above solution, the controller is further configured as follows:

[0027] Get the speed of the fan in the refrigerator;

[0028] If the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the fixed value is adjusted; if the strain sensor is a quarter-bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple is adjusted according to the rotational speed of the fan; wherein the rotational speed is directly proportional to the strain multiple.

[0029] As an improvement of the above solution, the controller is further configured as follows:

[0030] When the duration of the air damper stopping operation reaches a preset stopping operation duration threshold, entering the air damper self-checking program;

[0031] When the damper continues to run for one step, the real-time strain value of the damper continues to be obtained;

[0032] When the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold, exiting the self-checking program;

[0033] When the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to continue to operate for one step, and when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to start.

[0034] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a refrigerator damper control method, wherein a strain sensor and a damper are provided in the refrigerator, wherein the damper is used to inject cold air into the storage chamber when adjusting its opening, wherein the damper comprises a fixed base and a rotating element provided on the fixed base, and the damper opening is adjusted by rotating the rotating element; the strain sensor is provided on one side of the fixed base, and is used to detect the strain value of the damper; then, the method comprises:

[0035] In response to the damper opening adjustment operation, obtaining a real-time strain value and a preset strain threshold value detected by the strain sensor;

[0036] When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop operating.

[0037] As an improvement of the above solution, the strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then,

[0038] When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value;

[0039] When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

[0040] As an improvement of the above solution, the method further includes:

[0041] In response to a power-on operation or a defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, a plurality of reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor are acquired;

[0042] Perform data preprocessing on several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data;

[0043] Taking the average value of several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value;

[0044] When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the average strain value is used as the fixed value;

[0045] When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber is obtained; the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple is calculated as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

[0046] As an improvement of the above solution, the method further includes:

[0047] When the duration of the air damper stopping operation reaches a preset stopping operation duration threshold, entering the air damper self-checking program;

[0048] When the damper continues to run for one step, the real-time strain value of the damper continues to be obtained;

[0049] When the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold, exiting the self-checking program;

[0050] When the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to continue to operate for one step, and when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to start.

[0051] Compared with the related art, the present invention discloses a refrigerator and a damper control method thereof, wherein a strain sensor is installed at the damper of the refrigerator to detect the strain value of the damper. Since the damper will cause the fixed base of the damper to deform when it is stuck, the strain sensor detects its real-time strain value at this time, and compares this real-time strain value with the preset strain threshold value to determine whether the damper is stuck. In addition, for a quarter-bridge strain sensor that does not use a temperature compensation sheet, due to the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, when the temperature is high, the strain value of the damper when it is not stuck is also relatively large, and the corresponding strain threshold value should be set to be relatively large at this time. On the contrary, when the temperature is low, the corresponding strain threshold value is small. The present invention selects the corresponding strain threshold value in combination with the real-time temperature of the refrigerator, so that when the real-time strain value is detected to be greater than or equal to the strain threshold value, the damper is controlled to stop running, so that the noise generated by the damper due to the stuck disappears, and for a quarter-bridge strain sensor that does not use a temperature compensation sheet, the temperature is introduced to select the corresponding strain threshold value, which can improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck. Furthermore, the present invention also takes into account the impact of vibration of functional modules in the refrigerator during operation on the strain sensor, and the impact of wind force generated by the fan speed on the strain sensor. Different strain threshold adjustment methods are used for different influencing factors, which can further improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a refrigeration system in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a damper in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 5 is another structural schematic diagram of a damper in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the installation of a strain sensor provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 7 is a first working flow diagram of a controller in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0059] Figure 8 is a second working flow chart of the controller in the refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0060] Fig. 9 is a third working flow diagram of the controller in the refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Fig.10 is a fourth working flow diagram of a controller in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0062] Fig.11 is a fifth working flow chart of the controller in the refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Fig.12 The present invention provides a flowchart of a refrigerator air door control method.

[0064] Among them, 100, refrigerator; 10, damper; 101, fixed base; 102, rotating element; 103, strain sensor; 1, compressor; 2, evaporator; 3, capillary; 4, condenser. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0066] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0067] The terms "first", "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0068] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0069] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the external structure of a refrigerator 100 provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is approximately in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. The refrigerator includes a box body that defines a storage space and a plurality of door bodies arranged at the opening of the box body, wherein the door body includes a door body outer shell located on the outside of the box body, a door body liner located on the inside of the box body, an upper end cover, a lower end cover, and an insulating layer located between the door body outer shell, the door body liner, the upper end cover, and the lower end cover; usually, the insulating layer is filled with foam material. The box body is provided with a chamber, wherein the chamber includes a component storage chamber for placing components in the refrigerator, such as a compressor cabin, etc., and also includes a storage space for storing food, etc. See Figure 2 , Figure 2 : is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The storage space can be divided into multiple storage rooms. The storage rooms can be configured as refrigerators and freezers according to different uses. They can also include variable temperature rooms, vacuum drawers, moisturizing drawers, etc. Each storage room corresponds to one or more door bodies, for example, Figure 1 The upper storage room is provided with a double-opening door body. The door body can be pivotally arranged at the opening of the box body, and can also be opened in a drawer-like manner to achieve drawer-like storage. The refrigerator door is provided with a display screen, which is used to display prompt information and receive user touch operations.

[0070] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3The schematic diagram of the structure of the refrigeration system in the refrigerator provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigeration system includes a compressor 1, an evaporator 2, a drying filter (not shown in the figure), a capillary tube 3, a condenser 4 and a gas-liquid separator (not shown in the figure). The working process of the refrigeration system includes a compression process, a condensation process, a throttling process and an evaporation process. The compression process is: plug in the power cord of the refrigerator, when the contacts of the thermostat are connected, the compressor 1 starts to work, the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 1, and is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure superheated gas in the cylinder of the compressor 1 and then discharged to the condenser 4; the condensation process is: the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas dissipates heat through the condenser 4, the temperature continues to drop, and is gradually cooled to a saturated vapor of normal temperature and high pressure, and is further cooled to a saturated liquid, and the temperature no longer drops. The temperature at this time is called the condensation temperature, and the pressure of the refrigerant remains almost unchanged during the entire condensation process; The flow process is as follows: the saturated liquid refrigerant after condensation is filtered out of moisture and impurities by a drying filter and then flows into the capillary tube 3 through which the refrigerant is throttled and depressurized to become wet steam at room temperature and low pressure; the evaporation process is as follows: the wet steam at room temperature and low pressure begins to absorb heat and vaporize in the evaporator 2, which not only reduces the temperature of the evaporator 2 and its surroundings, but also turns the refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure gas. The refrigerant coming out of the evaporator 2 passes through the gas-liquid separator and then returns to the compressor 1, repeating the above process to transfer the heat in the refrigerator to the air outside the box, thereby achieving the purpose of refrigeration.

[0071] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the air door 10 in the refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator air door refers to the door inside the refrigerator, which is arranged in the box body. The refrigerator includes at least one air door, and its main function is to adjust the temperature and humidity inside the refrigerator. When the air door is closed, the air inside the refrigerator cannot circulate, thereby maintaining a lower temperature and lower humidity. When the air door is opened, cold air can flow into the refrigerator, thereby reducing the temperature inside the refrigerator and also adjusting the humidity inside the refrigerator. The opening and closing of the damper is generally controlled by a temperature controller inside the refrigerator, and is used to inject cold air into the storage chamber when adjusting its opening. The damper 10 includes a fixed base 101 and a rotating element 102 arranged on the fixed base 101. The fixed base 101 is provided with a clamping portion for clamping the rotating element 102. The rotating element 102 is in a sheet-like structure (with a certain thickness). The fixed base 101 is provided with a hollow portion corresponding to the rotating element 102. The damper 10 receives a control instruction from a controller, and uses a driving motor to rotate the rotating element 102 to adjust the opening of the damper, thereby adjusting the amount of cold air in the storage chamber. For example, when the damper 10 is opened, the rotating element 102 is at the maximum opening angle. At this time, the cold air flows into the storage chamber through the hollow portion. When the damper 10 is closed, Figure 5At this time, the rotating element 102 is just engaged with the hollow portion, the hollow portion is filled, and the cold air cannot flow into the storage chamber.

[0072] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 1 is an installation diagram of a strain sensor 103 provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The strain sensor 103 is a sensor capable of measuring the strain of an object. The strain (strain value) refers to the degree of deformation of an object when a force is applied. The strain sensor 103 can convert this deformation into an electrical signal output, thereby realizing the measurement of the strain of the object. The strain sensor 103 is usually composed of a strain gauge, a bridge, and a signal amplifier. In strain measurement, the full-bridge and half-bridge circuits need to use a temperature compensation sheet, because the resistance value of the strain sensor changes with the change of temperature, which will cause the balance state of the bridge to shift, thereby affecting the accuracy of the measurement result. In order to solve this problem, a temperature compensation sheet is needed to compensate for the influence of the temperature change of the strain sensor on the balance state of the bridge, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the measurement result. The quarter-bridge circuit usually does not need a temperature compensation sheet, because its output signal is small, the influence on temperature is small, and it is usually only used to measure low-precision strain. Figure 6 The figure shows a patch position of the strain sensor 103. The placement position of the strain sensor 103 should not be directly squeezed by the damper, which will cause damage to the strain gauge after a long time. Therefore, it is placed on the back side of the fixed base 101 so that the corresponding strain can be identified, which will also be more conducive to long-term use.

[0073] It is worth noting that the strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor without a temperature compensation sheet. When selecting a test method based on the product, the quarter-bridge should take into account the strain change caused by the temperature change (even if the strain change caused by the temperature is small, it should be considered). Therefore, when setting different temperature gears, there will be different threshold settings. At the same time, considering that the damper is a structure that controls the temperature of the refrigerator compartment, when the refrigerator product is used, the temperature difference between different compartments will have a large change, such as freezing and refrigeration. Therefore, when using a quarter-bridge, the corresponding threshold should be set according to which compartment the strain sensor is in, that is, the two sheets may have different threshold settings, which is based on temperature judgment. If a half-bridge or full-bridge test method is used, there is a temperature compensation sheet, and it is only necessary to stick the temperature compensation sheet on the same material that is not subjected to stress in the same room. In this way, there is no need to set a threshold for the compartment temperature, and only a unified strain threshold needs to be set. This is because the existence of temperature compensation has eliminated the temperature error.

[0074] The present invention is based on the noise failure problem investigated by NPS. The R&D personnel tested and analyzed the noise of some problematic prototypes and found that part of the noise problem of the current prototypes comes from the noise of the damper jamming during operation. To address this problem, a strain sensor was introduced to identify the operation of the product damper. The cause of the damper jamming noise: the position of the damper is uncertain before resetting. To ensure complete resetting, the reset signal will take a few more steps. When the damper reaches the mechanical limit (such as the maximum opening position or the closed position), a jamming "clicking sound" will appear at the limit until the extra steps are completely completed. The present invention uses the strain sensor 103 to identify the strain value of the damper. When the damper jams, the strain sensor will identify the drastic change in strain, and then feedback to the control system to help the product control the damper and avoid the damper jamming phenomenon. For example, the damper needs to be adjusted to the maximum opening. Ideally, the damper can reach the maximum opening position after running for 10 steps. However, in order to ensure that the damper can reach the maximum opening, the controller sets the number of steps to 12. If the damper cannot operate when it reaches 10 steps, but the rotating element 102 needs to continue to rotate, the fixed base 101 is squeezed and deformed, and its force increases, and the corresponding dependent variable increases. At this time, the strain sensor will recognize the change in the strain value, and the controller can know that the damper is stuck.

[0075] Specifically, the controller in the refrigerator is configured to obtain the real-time strain value and the preset strain threshold detected by the strain sensor in response to the damper opening adjustment operation; when it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop operating.

[0076] For example, see Figure 7 , Figure 7is a first working flow chart of a controller in a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention, and the controller is configured to execute steps S11 to S15. When it is detected that the damper is about to adjust its opening, the real-time strain value detected by the strain sensor is obtained, and the strain threshold is obtained, so that when it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop running, so that the noise generated by the damper due to the jamming disappears. It is worth noting that the damper opening adjustment process is implemented by the controller in the refrigerator. If the cooling speed of the refrigerating chamber is too slow at this time, the amount of cold air entering the refrigerating chamber needs to be increased, and the controller needs to send a control instruction to increase the damper opening to the driving motor so that the driving motor rotates to drive the rotating element 102 to rotate, thereby increasing the opening of the damper. Therefore, the controller itself can sense at what moment the damper needs to adjust its opening. When it is detected that the strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop running in order to avoid the increase of noise caused by the jamming at this time, and the subsequent steps S16 to S21 judgment logic are entered after the damper stops running.

[0077] Specifically, the strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then, when the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value; when the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

[0078] For example, see Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a second working flow chart of the controller in the refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention. When the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the controller is configured to execute steps S31 to S35.

[0079] Furthermore, in addition to the fact that the quarter-bridge strain sensor needs to take into account the influence of temperature, considering the influence of "thermal expansion and contraction" of the damper's own structure due to temperature, the embodiment of the present invention also adjusts the strain threshold according to the influence of temperature on the damper's own structure. The adjustment method is as follows: when it is detected that the damper is about to adjust its opening, the real-time temperature of the storage chamber corresponding to the damper is obtained, and the real-time strain value detected by the strain sensor is obtained. Due to the material of the damper structure itself (such as hard plastic, rubber), it will expand when heated. When the temperature is high, the overall structure of the damper will expand under the action of high temperature. At this time, there will be a slight squeeze at the clamping position of the rotating element 102 and the fixed base 101. Pressure phenomenon occurs, so the strain value of the damper when there is no jam is also relatively large. At this time, the corresponding strain threshold should also be set to be relatively large (that is, an adjustment value that increases with increasing temperature is superimposed on the original strain threshold). On the contrary, when the temperature is low, the damper will not expand due to heat (due to the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the damper will return to its original shape). At this time, the corresponding strain threshold is relatively small. Therefore, it is necessary to select the corresponding strain threshold in combination with the real-time temperature of the refrigerator. When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop running, so that the noise caused by the jam of the damper disappears. In addition, the introduction of temperature to select the corresponding strain threshold can improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is jammed.

[0080] Specifically, the controller is also configured to: in response to the power-on operation or defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, obtain several reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor; perform data preprocessing on the several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data; take the average value of the several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value; when the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, use the average strain value as the fixed value; when the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, obtain the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber; calculate the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

[0081] For example, see Fig. 9 , Fig. 9It is the third working flow chart of the controller in the refrigerator provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and the controller is configured to execute steps S101 to S109. In steps S101 to S104, once the damper is over-traveled, the damper applies a continuous force to the wall surface, and the wall surface will always have excessive strain, so the instantaneous strain peak value can be eliminated. In the stable operation stage after the power-on operation or the defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, several reference strain values ​​obtained by the periodic identification of the strain sensor are obtained and the average value is taken to obtain the average strain value. In this process, the collected data is filtered to eliminate abnormal data. In steps S105 to S106, when the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the average strain value is used as the fixed value (strain threshold). In steps S107 to S109, when the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, it is necessary to obtain the corresponding strain threshold value based on the local change. When selecting the test method based on the product, the quarter bridge should take into account the strain change caused by the temperature change. Therefore, when setting different temperature gears, there will be different threshold settings. At the same time, considering that the damper is a structure that controls the temperature of the refrigerator compartment, when the refrigerator product is used, the temperature difference between different compartments will have a large change, such as freezing and refrigeration. Therefore, when using the quarter bridge, the corresponding threshold value should be set according to which compartment the strain sensor is in. The strain threshold value M = N*a; wherein M is the threshold value, a is the average strain value within 5 minutes under stable conditions, and N is the strain multiple, generally taking a value of 5-20, which takes different values ​​according to different temperature gears. In the embodiment of the present invention, the temperature change of the storage compartment of the refrigerator at different gears is given, as shown in Table 1.

[0082] Table 1 Temperature changes of refrigerator storage compartment at different gears

[0083]

[0084] Table 1 is an example of the temperature control mode of a prototype. The damper operation is mainly aimed at the product temperature threshold moment. Opening the damper inputs or stops the cold input. Therefore, we only need to calculate the strain threshold at the shutdown and startup moments of the corresponding temperature level.

[0085] It is worth noting that the above control mode is only the basic judgment logic of the damper control, and the above operation mode needs to be embedded in the operation control of the refrigerator product. This is because the load of the product is different in each operation cycle of the product, so it is possible to change the operating speed of the fan or the load of other equipment. The strain sensor is placed at the damper, and the measurement of the strain itself is a very small amount of micro-strain (με), so even a very small force will cause a change in the strain, such as the force of wind blowing on the damper. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, in addition to considering the impact of the change in the strain threshold value caused by the real-time temperature (thermal expansion and contraction) of the refrigerator, it is also necessary to consider the impact of the functional modules and fan speed in the refrigerator.

[0086] Specifically, the controller is also configured to: detect the startup status of the functional modules in the refrigerator; when all functional modules are not started, control the strain threshold to remain unchanged; when at least one functional module is started, if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, adjust the fixed value according to the startup number of the functional modules; if the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, determine the corresponding multiple adjustment value according to the startup number of the functional modules, superimpose the multiple adjustment value on the strain multiple, and recalculate the strain threshold according to the strain multiple after the multiple adjustment value is superimposed.

[0087] Exemplarily, the functional modules include ice makers, humidifiers, sterilizers, and other additional functional modules other than refrigeration. When the functional modules are running, there will often be large vibrations, such as ice makers. The transmission of these vibrations will affect the strain at the position of the strain gauge, causing it to increase. Therefore, the strain threshold when the functional module is running needs to be increased by a certain multiple. Fig.10 , Fig.10 This is the fourth workflow diagram of the controller in the refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The controller is also configured to execute steps S201 to S207. If the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the fixed value is adjusted according to the number of startups of the functional module, and the fixed value is increased as the number of startups increases. If the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple is adjusted at this time, and an additional multiple adjustment value is superimposed on the original strain multiple. At this time, the strain threshold M = (N + S) * a, and S is the multiple adjustment value. It is worth noting that the specific increase in the fixed value and the specific value of the multiple adjustment value can be obtained based on laboratory testing, and are not specifically limited here.

[0088] Specifically, the controller is further configured to: obtain the rotation speed of the fan in the refrigerator; if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, adjust the fixed value; wherein the rotation speed is proportional to the fixed value. If the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, adjust the strain multiple according to the rotation speed of the fan; wherein the rotation speed is proportional to the strain multiple.

[0089] For example, different thresholds still need to be set for various products with different fan speeds. This is because the force blowing on the damper will be different if the fan speed is different, so the strain stability value at the stable moment will vary significantly.

[0090] Specifically, the controller is further configured to: enter a damper self-test program when the duration of the damper stopping operation reaches a preset stop operation duration threshold; continue to obtain the real-time strain value of the damper when the damper continues to operate for one step; exit the self-test program when the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold; control the damper to continue operating for one step when the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, and control the damper to start when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold.

[0091] For example, see Fig.11 , Fig.11 It is the fifth working flow chart of the controller in the refrigerator provided by the embodiment of the present invention. After executing step S15, the controller is further configured to execute steps S16 to S21. The damper self-check is mainly to determine whether the damper has run to the target position. If it runs one step beyond the threshold, it means that it has run to the target position, that is, the 90-degree position. It can be stopped and wait for the next damper operation instruction. If it does not exceed, it means that it may have only run to the 45-degree position. It is because of the strain change caused by external factors, so it runs again until it reaches the 90-degree position. The jamming solved in this article is the noise problem caused by the continuous collision of the damper frame due to the excessive movement of the damper. If the monitoring does not exceed, such as at the 45-degree position, there will be no jamming when it runs again.

[0092] Compared with the related art, the refrigerator disclosed in the present invention is equipped with a strain sensor at the damper of the refrigerator to detect the strain value of the damper. Since the damper will cause the fixed base of the damper to deform when it is stuck, the strain sensor detects its real-time strain value at this time, and compares this real-time strain value with the preset strain threshold value to determine whether the damper is stuck. In addition, for the quarter-bridge strain sensor without a temperature compensation sheet, due to the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, when the temperature is high, the strain value of the damper when it is not stuck is also relatively large. At this time, the corresponding strain threshold should also be set larger. On the contrary, when the temperature is low, the corresponding strain threshold is smaller. The present invention selects the corresponding strain threshold in combination with the real-time temperature of the refrigerator, so that when the real-time strain value is detected to be greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop running, so that the noise generated by the damper due to the stuck disappears, and for the quarter-bridge strain sensor without a temperature compensation sheet, the temperature is introduced to select the corresponding strain threshold, which can improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck. Furthermore, the present invention also takes into account the impact of vibration of functional modules in the refrigerator during operation on the strain sensor, and the impact of wind force generated by the fan speed on the strain sensor. Different strain threshold adjustment methods are used for different influencing factors, which can further improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck.

[0093] See also Fig.12 , Fig.12 The present invention provides a flowchart of a refrigerator damper control method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator is provided with a strain sensor and a damper. The damper is used to inject cold air into the storage chamber when adjusting its opening. The damper includes a fixed base and a rotating element arranged on the fixed base. The damper opening is adjusted by rotating the rotating element. The strain sensor is arranged on one side of the fixed base and is used to detect the strain value of the damper. Then, the method includes:

[0094] S1. In response to the damper opening adjustment operation, obtaining the real-time strain value and the preset strain threshold detected by the strain sensor;

[0095] S2. When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, control the damper to stop operating.

[0096] Specifically, the strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then, when the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value; when the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

[0097] Specifically, the method also includes: in response to the power-on operation or defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, obtaining several reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor; performing data preprocessing on the several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data; taking the average value of the several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value; when the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, using the average strain value as the fixed value; when the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, obtaining the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber; calculating the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

[0098] Specifically, the method also includes: detecting the startup status of the functional modules in the refrigerator; when all functional modules are not started, controlling the strain threshold to remain unchanged; when at least one functional module is started, if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, adjusting the fixed value according to the startup number of the functional modules; if the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, determining the corresponding multiple adjustment value according to the startup number of the functional modules, superimposing the multiple adjustment value on the strain multiple, and recalculating the strain threshold according to the strain multiple after the multiple adjustment value is superimposed.

[0099] Specifically, the method also includes: obtaining the rotation speed of the fan in the refrigerator; if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, adjusting the fixed value; if the strain sensor is a quarter-bridge strain sensor, adjusting the strain multiple according to the rotation speed of the fan; wherein the rotation speed is directly proportional to the strain multiple.

[0100] Specifically, the method also includes: when the duration of the damper stopping operation reaches a preset stop operation duration threshold, entering the damper self-test program; when the damper continues to operate for one step, continuing to obtain the real-time strain value of the damper; when the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold, exiting the self-test program 2; when the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, controlling the damper to continue operating for one step; and controlling the damper to start when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold.

[0101] Compared with the related art, the refrigerator damper control method disclosed in the present invention installs a strain sensor at the damper of the refrigerator to detect the strain value of the damper. Since the damper will cause the fixed base of the damper to deform when it is stuck, the real-time strain value is detected by the strain sensor at this time, and the real-time strain value is compared with the preset strain threshold value to determine whether the damper is stuck. In addition, for the quarter-bridge strain sensor without a temperature compensation sheet, due to the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, when the temperature is high, the strain value of the damper when it is not stuck is also relatively large. At this time, the corresponding strain threshold value should also be set larger. On the contrary, when the temperature is low, the corresponding strain threshold value is smaller. The present invention selects the corresponding strain threshold value in combination with the real-time temperature of the refrigerator, so that when the real-time strain value is detected to be greater than or equal to the strain threshold value, the damper is controlled to stop running, so that the noise generated by the damper due to the stuck disappears, and for the quarter-bridge strain sensor without a temperature compensation sheet, the temperature is introduced to select the corresponding strain threshold value, which can improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck. Furthermore, the present invention also takes into account the impact of vibration of functional modules in the refrigerator during operation on the strain sensor, and the impact of wind force generated by the fan speed on the strain sensor. Different strain threshold adjustment methods are used for different influencing factors, which can further improve the accuracy of judging whether the damper is stuck.

[0102] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that a person skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that: include: a box body, in which a storage chamber is formed, and the storage chamber includes at least a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber; A door, used for opening and closing the storage room; The damper is arranged in the box body and is used to inject cold air into the storage room when adjusting its opening. The damper includes a fixed base and a rotating element arranged on the fixed base. The opening of the damper is adjusted by rotating the rotating element. A strain sensor, disposed on one side of the fixed base, for detecting a strain value of the damper; A temperature sensor is provided in the storage chamber and is used to detect the real-time temperature of the storage chamber; The controller is configured as: In response to the damper opening adjustment operation, obtaining a real-time strain value and a preset strain threshold value detected by the strain sensor; When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop operating.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then, When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value; When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The controller is also configured to: In response to a power-on operation or a defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, a plurality of reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor are acquired; Perform data preprocessing on several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data; Taking the average value of several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value; When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the average strain value is used as the fixed value; When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber is obtained; the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple is calculated as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The controller is also configured to: Detect the activation status of the functional modules in the refrigerator; When all functional modules are not started, the strain threshold is controlled to remain unchanged; When at least one functional module is started, if the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the fixed value is adjusted according to the number of started functional modules; if the strain sensor is the quarter-bridge strain sensor, the corresponding multiple adjustment value is determined according to the number of started functional modules, the multiple adjustment value is superimposed on the strain multiple, and the strain threshold is recalculated according to the strain multiple after the multiple adjustment value is superimposed.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The controller is also configured to: Get the speed of the fan in the refrigerator; If the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the fixed value is adjusted; if the strain sensor is a quarter-bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple is adjusted according to the rotational speed of the fan; wherein the rotational speed is directly proportional to the strain multiple.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller is also configured to: When the duration of the air damper stopping operation reaches a preset stopping operation duration threshold, entering the air damper self-checking program; When the damper continues to run for one step, the real-time strain value of the damper continues to be obtained; When the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold, exiting the self-checking program; When the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to continue to operate for one step, and when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to start.

7. A refrigerator air door control method, characterized in that: The refrigerator is provided with a strain sensor and a damper, wherein the damper is used to inject cold air into the storage chamber when adjusting its opening, and the damper includes a fixed base and a rotating element arranged on the fixed base, and the opening of the damper is adjusted by rotating the rotating element; The strain sensor is disposed on one side of the fixed base and is used to detect the strain value of the damper; then, the method comprises: In response to the damper opening adjustment operation, obtaining a real-time strain value and a preset strain threshold value detected by the strain sensor; When it is detected that the real-time strain value is greater than or equal to the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to stop operating.

8. The refrigerator damper control method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The strain sensor includes a full-bridge strain sensor and a half-bridge strain sensor using a temperature compensation sheet, and a quarter-bridge strain sensor not using a temperature compensation sheet; then, When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is a preset fixed value; When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain threshold is selected according to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber.

9. The refrigerator damper control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: In response to a power-on operation or a defrost recovery operation of the refrigerator, a plurality of reference strain values ​​periodically identified by the strain sensor are acquired; Perform data preprocessing on several reference strain values ​​to eliminate abnormal data; Taking the average value of several reference strain values ​​after data preprocessing as the average strain value; When the strain sensor is a full-bridge strain sensor or a half-bridge strain sensor, the average strain value is used as the fixed value; When the strain sensor is the quarter bridge strain sensor, the strain multiple corresponding to the real-time temperature of the storage chamber is obtained; the product of the average strain value and the strain multiple is calculated as the strain threshold; wherein the strain multiple is proportional to the real-time temperature.

10. The refrigerator damper control method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the duration of the air damper stopping operation reaches a preset stopping operation duration threshold, entering the air damper self-checking program; When the damper continues to run for one step, the real-time strain value of the damper continues to be obtained; When the real-time strain value exceeds the strain threshold, exiting the self-checking program; When the real-time strain value does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to continue to operate for one step, and when the real-time strain value still does not exceed the strain threshold, the damper is controlled to start.

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